Texas’ abortion ban will disproportionately affect women of color, particularly Black women, who already face more financial burdens, health complications and risk of death related to pregnancy or childbirth.
“We are seeing the impact in a huge, huge way,” Matthews, 43, said. “We’re seeing this blanket effect of what’s already been happening.”
These days, life is expensive even for a single adult, Matthews said. Adding another person to take care of makes it so much more expensive, especially when the U.S. is facing a diaper and. She said many people think it’s easy to combat those shortages, particularly the formula shortage, by simply breastfeeding. But that doesn’t account for women who aren’t able to produce breast milk or who have past trauma associated with their breasts, which is frequent among Black women.
For Black women, Blount said the underlying messaging of the Supreme Court’s opinion and the looming abortion bans across half of the country is that their bodies aren’t valuable and that they can’t make decisions about their health care by themselves. This alone, she said, will undoubtedly cause long-term trauma among young Black girls as they become adults.
Instead, Matthews said she believes help will come from community leaders and organizers who work to share information and resources with the Black community. “There are steps that can be taken to reduce maternal mortality rates, but they start with valuing the very lives of these people who are giving birth,” Blount said.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Black men feel 'helpless and hopeless' as Black women brace for post-Roe AmericaBlack men know the Black women in their lives will suffer some of the gravest consequences of Roe v. Wade’s reversal. “For the Black man, it’s all painful, because these women mean so much to us,” professor Rodney Coates told NBCBLK.
Read more »
Most Texans think women will still seek abortions in Texas even if unsafeMost Texans think abortion should be legal in Texas — Texas women and younger Texans, especially so. But that statewide view in Texas is not quite as high as it is nationally.
Read more »
Texas women may cross the border to get access to abortion careWith the overturning of Roe v. Wade, an immigration attorney in Austin says more Texans might visit Mexico looking for abortion care.
Read more »
Fact check: Did a Texas lawmaker introduce bill allowing death penalty for women who have abortions?Is it true that a Texas GOP lawmaker recently introduced a bill that would allow the...
Read more »
Security guard at Kroger accused of racially profiling, assaulting Black womenA security guard at Kroger is under fire for allegedly racially profiling three different Black women in separate interactions, assaulting one of them and yelling racially insensitive remarks at another.
Read more »
As death count rises to 51 migrants found in Texas tractor-trailer, here's what we knowThe bodies of as many as 51 people believed to be migrants were found inside and around a San Antonio tractor-trailer Monday evening.
Read more »